Review: K brings crude sing-alongs to Craufurd Arms on farewell tour

David Jackson reviews K and the Gang at the Craufurd Arms
K was joined by manager and support act Mike Gibbons on guitar for the finaleK was joined by manager and support act Mike Gibbons on guitar for the finale
K was joined by manager and support act Mike Gibbons on guitar for the finale

Anyone at the Craufurd Arms on Saturday night will understand the difficulty of writing this review.

While national newspapers may have a different policy on expletives, it’s just not something you see on the printed (or online) pages of regional newspapers – which has made this tough.

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From here on in, we’ll stick with ‘K’, or to give the headliner his full moniker, ‘K and the Gang’ and deal with song titles and their subjects as and when they crop up.

K described his act as a "synth-pop Jeremy Vine"K described his act as a "synth-pop Jeremy Vine"
K described his act as a "synth-pop Jeremy Vine"

(And no, it wasn’t Kool and the Gang. That wouldn’t have been a problem.)

K is out on his farewell tour - which we can’t really name either.

However, start with Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’ and go from there - it’s not too difficult to work out.

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The self-proclaimed “minor internet star” released his latest album, Blue R.O.F.L, earlier this year and is playing his final gigs across the country before calling it a day.

"No topic too taboo and insanely catchy pop hooks": K and the Gang"No topic too taboo and insanely catchy pop hooks": K and the Gang
"No topic too taboo and insanely catchy pop hooks": K and the Gang

For the past decade and a bit, K has been responsible for some of the funniest, crudest and wrongest pop songs in existence, achieving cult status along the way.

At the Craufurd Arms on Saturday, K described his act as a ‘synth pop Jeremy Vine’, which, for those unfamiliar, isn’t too far off.

Leaving good taste and decency at the door, K’s two part set was one of the funniest musical performances you’ll ever to see.

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Basildon’s greatest export arrived to a virtually sold out venue armed with simply a microphone, an iPod and a hand puppet.

K described his act as a "synth-pop Jeremy Vine"K described his act as a "synth-pop Jeremy Vine"
K described his act as a "synth-pop Jeremy Vine"

K’s set included songs about people using flashy cars as penis extensions, second-hand bras, the loneliness of being along on tour while staying in Travelodge hotels and an obsession with his paperboy.

He performed both hits which made the UK singles chart. Neither can be named, but one will become your new one word expletive of choice.

For Seedy Affair, K invited a female audience member on stage to sing to - an experience she went onto describe as one of the best three and a half minutes of her life.

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There was a song about Michael Eavis and a song to the music of Katy’s Perry’s hit I Kissed A Girl about an incident on a building site.

"No topic too taboo and insanely catchy pop hooks": K and the Gang"No topic too taboo and insanely catchy pop hooks": K and the Gang
"No topic too taboo and insanely catchy pop hooks": K and the Gang

Another suggested Jesus’ death had more in common with Michael Hutchence’s than religious texts would have you believe. Again, moving swiftly on.

By now you probably get the gist. No topic too taboo and insanely catchy pop hooks.

Offensive, crude sing-a-longs have never sounded so good.

For his finale, K was joined by manager and support act Mike Gibbons on guitar for one of K’s more recent, bigger hits, The Wrong Ian Watkins – a song highlighting plight of ‘H’ from the pop band Steps, whose image was incorrectly used by some of the media at the time of the jailing of the Welsh child abuser.

With only a handful of shows left, who knows if we’ll see K again.

With the number of reunion tours nowadays, K joked it might happen and hinted at a tour name.

We can’t repeat that either.

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